House approves government rightsizing bill

Mara Cepeda

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House approves government rightsizing bill
The proposed measure, one of President Rodrigo Duterte's priority measures in his second SONA, will give retirement benefits and separation incentives to affected employees

MANILA, Philippines – Two days after President Rodrigo Duterte urged lawmakers to pass the measure, the House of Representatives on Wednesday, July 26, approved on 3rd and final reading the bill that would remove redundancies and overlapping functions in the executive branch.

Lawmakers approved House Bill (HB) Number 5707 or the Rightsizing the National Government Act, which is among the priority measures that President Rodrigo Duterte mentioned in his 2nd State of the Nation Address on Monday, July 24. (READ: 6 priority bills of Duterte in SONA 2017

The bill seeks to grant Duterte the power to eliminate redundant, duplicate, and overlapping functions in all offices under the executive branch to “improve public service delivery.” 

The proposed measure creates a Committee on Rightsizing the Executive Branch to oversee the streamlining efforts targeted to be finished in 3 years.

HB 5707, however, excludes the following:

  • Teaching and teaching-related positions
  • Medical and allied-medical positions
  • Military and uniformed personnel
  • Position in government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) or government financing institutions covered by the Governance Commission for GOCCs in the rightsizing program

Congress, the judiciary, constitutional commissions, the Office of the Ombudsman, and local government units may adopt the rightsizing program should they wish to.

Employees who would be affected by the rightsizing program would be provided with retirement benefits as well as separation incentives. – Rappler.com

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Mara Cepeda

Mara Cepeda specializes in stories about politics and local governance. She covers the Office of the Vice President, the Senate, and the Philippine opposition. She is a 2021 fellow of the Asia Journalism Fellowship and the Reham al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship of the UN. Got tips? Email her at mara.cepeda@rappler.com or tweet @maracepeda.